


dead of midnight

by armethaumaturgy



Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2019-01-07 04:49:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12226104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/armethaumaturgy/pseuds/armethaumaturgy
Summary: The silence until Infi returns gnaws at him like a hungry Glitter, and even then isn’t much better. Infi shakes him softly with one hand, holding a steaming mug with the other.“Hey,” he mumbles, “Do you need anything?”





	dead of midnight

Breathing is hard.

There’s something around his neck, and no matter how hard or how frantically he claws at it, it refuses to give way. In fact, it only gets worse and worse the more he thinks about it.

Soon enough, he can’t breathe at all. He’s yanked back, the something digging into his throat. He can almost see the last of the air being squeezed out of his lungs, even though he’s surrounded by nothing but darkness.

He doesn’t know whether his eyes are open or closed, but it makes little difference in this place.

Something is said to him, too distorted, quiet, far away, to make sense. But the voice… It’s a vicious snarl, only confirming that whatever is being yelled at him is derogatory. The words continue, a slew of them, melting into one another.

He opens his mouth to scream, but no sound comes out, no matter how much he tries.

The voice fades slowly, getting even farther and farther.

* * *

Esper wakes up with a start, bounding upright. He’s covered in cold sweat and his hands fly up to his neck. They don’t find anything, just the collar of his shirt. The phantom feeling of touch around his neck persists, restraining his breath even still.

When he raises the hands up to his cheeks, he’s only slightly surprised to find them wet, fat, salty tears rolling down his cheeks in rivulets. He can’t feel them falling from his eyes, but his vision is blurred, the covers blending together into a mess before him.

“Esper?”

He jerks, turning to the left to find Infi awake and looking at him with a frown. He’s concerned. Probably.

Esper takes a deep breath to calm himself, but it’s shaky and not that deep, actually.

“Bad dream?” Infi asks. Esper shakes his head, still focusing on his breathing. It sounds too loud and raspy even to himself. Infi lifts the covers, catching them from falling off the edge of the bed before scooting a little closer, wrapping an arm around Esper’s shoulder.  "If it wasn’t a dream…?“

“A memory,” Esper continues, finally trusting his voice again. He wants nothing more than to go back to sleep. Now he got Infi all worried.

He should he over those memories already.

He  _used_ to be.

“How about I grab some hot cocoa?”

Esper keeps his mouth shut pointedly, but Infi takes it as acquiescence and withdraws his arm, hopping off the bed. Esper desperately forces down the part of his mind that screams at being let go of. He watches as Infi makes his way out of the room, footsteps fading into silence eventually.

He curls up into the covers, pulling them closer to his chest. It’s the closest thing he gets to a hug. He feels awful, mind still fuzzy. The dream might not have been very visual, but now, awake, he can remember it with uncanny clarity.

He wishes he couldn’t.

The silence until Infi returns gnaws at him like a hungry Glitter, and even then isn’t much better. Infi shakes him softly with one hand, holding a steaming mug with the other.

“Hey,” he mumbles, “Do you need anything?”

Esper lets himself he coaxed to sit up again and take the mug from Infi. The warmth of it warms up his whole body, spreading from his fingers into the rest of his body like a cure he didn’t know he needed right now.

“Thank you,” he mutters back.

Infi seats himself next to Esper, leaned back against the headrest. Esper, in turn, leans onto him shoulder to shoulder. The cocoa tastes great as he sips at it.

“It’s okay,” Infi tells him, slinging an arm over his shoulder and idly rubbing his upper arm. “You think you wanna go back to bed?”

“I don’t know,” Esper answers honestly.

“We got a big day tomorrow, scouting and all…”

“Then you should go back to bed, Infi, so you can be attentive. For once.”

“Nah, if you don’t wanna sleep, I’ll stay up with you,” Infi reassures him, pulling the taller closer.

“You’re an idiot,” Esper huffs, barely loud enough for the redhead to hear. But he does, and it still paints a smile on his face.

“We’ll both be idiots. Sleep deprived idiots, but hey, I’d rather be an idiot than for us to have nightmares.”

Esper chuckles, relaxing into the other’s hold.

“Like I said, an idiot.”


End file.
